


Happy Birthday.  Have Pokémon.

by JiminysJournal



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 1990s, Alternate Universe - High School, But still very anti-CS, Emma's Birthday, F/M, Implied Sea DeVil, Implied Sleeping Warrior, Past Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan, characters playing pokemon, ducklingspark, my first fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-10 19:59:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8936986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JiminysJournal/pseuds/JiminysJournal
Summary: Neal gets Emma a Pokémon game for her birthday.  Which one she wants is up to her.  Red or Blue?





	

“Take your pick!”  Neal held two boxes in front of him, for Emma to pick from.  In his right hand, a red box, with an orange, winged lizard with a burning tail; in his right, a blue box, with a blue turtle with two cannons poking out of its shell — _Pokémon Red_ and _Blue_.  You know Charizard and Blastoise, right?

“Hmm?”  Emma asked, studying in front of her locker.

“Have you…forgotten it’s your birthday?”

She looked up from her book.  “Oh, so basically, you’re having me pick out my own birthday gift?”

“Well, they’re essentially the same.  Just certain Pokémon are different, depending on which game you play.  I read it in _Nintendo Power_.”

She set her book aside.  “Well, you know I love red, but I also have this whole water-thing.  My name is ‘Swan,’ after all.”

“Yeah?”

“And your favorite color is blue, but you have this fire-thing — DECISIONS ARE HARD!”

Neal moved his mouth to the side, pondering this.

Emma then continued, “Plus your mom’s a marine biologist.”

“Yeah, but the other one calls her office ‘Hell Hall.’”

She let out a heavy sigh.  “How about we just take both games out, tape them together, so we can’t see the labels, and let me pick randomly?”

“Okay!”  Neal tore the shrink-wrap off the blue box and opened it. “Uh oh.”

“What?”

He showed her the inside of the box.  The cartridge wasn’t the normal grey; it was blue!

“Well that’s gonna complicate matters,” she continued.

“I’ll say!  Here, take these.”  He handed her both boxes, then took a quarter out of his pocket.  “You wanna call it?  It’s YOUR birthday, after all!”

“Heads, I get _Red_ ; tails I get _Blue_.  Huh.  Head, _Red_.  That rhymes!”

He flipped the coin, and it landed heads-up.  She begrudgingly handed him _Blue_.  “Are you sure?” he asked.

“I don’t know.  I guess I kind of wanted _Blue_.  I know, it’s weird, what with red being my favorite color, but…Squirtle!  Also, I remember, Mulan and Aurora saying you can only get Vulpix in _Blue_.”

He handed back the box, smiling.  “Here.  I’ll take _Red_.  I want Growlithe, anyway!”

“Okay!” she said, smiling, as she handed him _Pokémon Red_.  She took the game out of its box, as Neal tore off _Red_ ’s shrink-wrap.  She also found a brown booklet inside.  “Hm.  ‘Trainer Guide.’”  She opened it.  “Oh, it’s just the instructions.”  Paging through it, she added, “Still…”

Emma set down the book and reached into her locker for her GameBoy.  She took out the game inside — _Frogger_ — and put in her new game.  Neal sidled up next to her, putting his game in his own GameBoy.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Ready.”  They both slid the power switches, locking their new games in place.  Then, that wonderful sound of the Nintendo logo landing.  The opening video.  The title screen.  They both selected “new game” and watched as Professor Oak gave his little speech.

“What!?  I can’t play as a girl!?” Emma complained.

“Hmm…I guess they didn’t have enough room.”

“I swear I saw something somewhere with a female character in a black dress.  Whatever.”  Nevertheless, she still named herself Emma.  Next it came time to name her rival.  She asked Neal, “What are you naming your rival?”

“I don’t have to tell you!”

“What!?”  This shocked Emma, “Oh, come on!  Lemme see!”  She tried reading over his shoulder, but he just dodged her “Gimme!”  she snatched his GameBoy from his hands.  “Killian!?  That loser is toast!”  She handed his GameBoy back to him.  “Don’t go naming your rival after someone real!  You don’t see me naming my rival ‘Kevin!’”  Her idiot brother.

“Well, then what DID you name him?”

Almost embarrassed, Emma replied, “‘Poopyhead…’”

He nudged her.  “You’re such a child, Emma Swan!”

She nudged him back.  “I’m not a child; I’m 15, today!  Look, I hate him every bit as much as you, and I’m pretty sure he stole some of my mascara!”  She continued playing her game.

“He DID wear a lot of eyeliner…”  Like, A LOT!

“But, your better than that.  What, do you like me, or something?”

This caught Neal off-guard.  “Uh, uh,  umm…”  He mashed the B-button seven times and started entering in another name.

“Oh my god…YOU DO!”

“Listen, Emma, I can —“  He turned to face her, but cut himself off, noticing her wide smile.  He couldn’t tell: was she teasing him, or was the feeling mutual?  A little bit of both?  “Well, yeah…”

Emma’s smile faded into one that was more clearly sincere.  “That — wow.”

“Just forget it.”  He showed her his GameBoy.  “Here. ‘Gary.’  Simple.  Standard.  No real people.”

“Not gonna forget it.  Also, don’t bother with the buildings; just head into the grass.  Oak just stopped me there; I’ll wait.”

“No, really.  I — I don’t want wanna talk about it.  Okay, Oak stopped me.”

“Well, I…do.”  She set her GameBoy down and continued, “Remember when we saw _Mulan_?  Like, the movie, not our friend.”

“Yeah.”

“I…had a lot of fun that day.  Like, I blew off out annual coordinated trick-or-treating to go to some stupid party!”  And, yes, I did just get that plot from _Kim Possible_.  “So, I was NOT about to forgo our last-day-of-school movie!”

“Is this going anywhere?” he asked.

“Well, I had such a great day, it…kind of got me wondering, if I was with the right guy…”  She let Neal soak this in then added, “What I’m trying to say is ‘I like you, too!’”  She then pecked him on the cheek, and he smiled in response.  They both then resumed their games.

“What are you naming your Squirtle?  My Charmander is ‘Bonnie,’ as in ‘bonfire.’”

“Oh, that’s clever!  Yeah, I’m namin’ him ‘Leonardo.’”  Watch Bonnie be male, and Leonardo be female in GS.

“Oh, _Ninja Turtles_!  I like that.”

“Yeah,” she laughed, “ _Ninja Turtles_.”

**Author's Note:**

> I may add another chapter, even though it's marked as complete. It would be them battling at lunch or something.


End file.
